Parents are being asked to keep their children home from childcare today as staff walk off the job.

The United Workers Union is not using the word strike, instead calling it a shutdown, saying parents have been given plenty of notice about the industrial action.

There will be a series of rallies across the country, with most beginning at 3pm.

Childcare workers are demanding pay rises and a “reason” to stay in the sector.

The union’s director of early education Helen Gibbons says educators have had enough.